Chapter 161 I owe you: "The bridge is going to be demolished, I'll come back and hug Li..."

Li Leshan's breath hitched, and his heart suddenly started racing, just like when he saw that figure from behind while eating at a street food stall in Beijing years ago. Reason told him that Jiang Yueming could not possibly come back, but his body still acted before his brain could, and Li Leshan rushed out.

His mind went blank; there was nothing there, and he didn't have time to think about anything. As for whether it was the person he was thinking of, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Li Leshan had to go and see. Because he didn't know how many years would pass before he had this familiar feeling again. If he couldn't seize the opportunity this time, would he ever be able to wait until that day?

The bridge was packed with people, all eager to see the last glimpse of the Lijiang Bridge. The crowd was so dense that Li Leshan had to stagger forward, his gaze fixed on the figure for even a moment.

The further he went from one end of the bridge, the fewer people there were. Finally, through the few remaining people, Li Leshan could see clearly. He stood quietly in place, looking at Jiang Yueming's profile. All sorts of noises surrounded him, but Li Leshan seemed to have deliberately blocked them out; he couldn't hear anything.

He really... really came back.

He went back to Shengping.

"So many years have passed," Li Leshan choked, his eyes reddening slightly. His gaze was fixed on Jiang Yueming, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

How many years has it been? It's been so long I can't quite remember. It's been four years since I lost contact with him in the summer of 2014.

These past four years, more than 1,400 days and nights, have felt like many years, like an eternity.

Li Leshan desperately wanted to make a sound. He opened his mouth, and a few barely audible syllables escaped his throat. Then he tried to reach out and touch Jiang Yueming, but his fingertips trembled and stopped in mid-air. Suddenly, he came to his senses.

What...should I say something? Where have you been all these years? Why did you say it's over? Why did you cancel your phone number? Why can't I find you anywhere? Didn't you go to university? What...what exactly happened?

So many questions, like waves, surged up all at once. Li Leshan wanted to ask them, but what right did he have to ask them now? What status did he have to ask them? He had made it very clear back then that he was tired.

He was bound to be tired, because of himself, because of his family, which was like a bottomless pit. But Li Leshan still didn't understand, he still didn't quite understand. Why did he choose to leave this way? Actually, all he had to do was say one sentence, or have a proper talk with Li Leshan, and Li Leshan wouldn't have bothered him, he wouldn't have bothered him.

"Young man, could you take a picture for me? I want to keep it as a souvenir." An aunt patted Jiang Yueming on the shoulder and handed him her phone with a smile.

Jiang Yueming was staring blankly at the river when he was startled by the aunt's sudden action. He turned around, smiled, and took the aunt's phone. Then, as if realizing something, his smile froze on his face.

His gaze slowly shifted from the phone screen to the crowd beside him, but the moment his eyes met Li Leshan's, he quickly looked away.

Despite only having a brief moment of contact, Li Leshan could still see shock, confusion, and even a somewhat unusual emotion in his eyes.

In an instant, it seemed as if there was no one else on the vast Lijiang Bridge except for them, as if the world had been cut off. Jiang Yueming stood there blankly, not knowing how he had finished taking the photos for his aunt, but then he found himself unable to take a step.

"Thank you, young man!" The aunt was very satisfied. Although she didn't understand why he looked like he had seen a ghost, she was about to say, "A few more," when the young man next to her hurriedly left the crowd after saying "Sorry."

"Hey," the aunt looked in the direction he left with a puzzled expression, then turned around and spotted Li Leshan in the crowd. She went up to him warmly, "Hey handsome young man, could you help me..."

The handsome young man brushed past her shoulder before she even finished speaking.

"Tsk tsk, this handsome young man is so rude, even though he looks decent enough..." the aunt muttered.

Li Leshan had no time to worry about manners anymore. To be honest, he really couldn't care less about that now; he could only keep pushing through the crowd and running away.

Filled with doubt, why? Why did Jiang Yueming run away when she saw him? He wasn't someone shameful. Did he even recognize him? If he did, why...?

Fortunately, Li Leshan chased after him in time and didn't lose him. He grabbed Jiang Yueming's wrist tightly, his palms slightly sweaty.

A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead and the tip of his nose. He grabbed Jiang Yueming's wrist, then pulled away as if it were burning his hand. Li Leshan hurriedly gestured, trying to explain, "I'm sorry, I... I won't bother you, I didn't..."

Looking into Jiang Yueming's eyes, Li Leshan felt a sudden, sharp pain in his heart. He choked back a sob, realizing that Jiang Yueming probably wouldn't understand what he was saying. Sign language requires constant use; four years without any exposure is enough for someone to completely forget it. Jiang Yueming was different; he didn't rely on it for a living.

Li Leshan hurriedly took out his phone and started typing in the notes app, but because he was in a hurry, he kept deleting and rewriting. Just as he was about to hold up his phone to show Jiang Yueming, he heard him speak, his voice a little dry, "What... do you want to say?"

Li Leshan paused, his eyes lowered, and after a long while, his fingers finally moved. "I... I've been looking for you all these years. Where have you been all these years?"

To this day, he has lost count of how many springs, summers, autumns, and winters he has spent in other places. He wanders between the north and south, stopping and starting, sometimes staying in hostels that cost a few dozen yuan a night when he can't afford a hotel, or making do with a room in a hotel near the train station. Every time he goes there, he hopes to run into Jiang Yueming, even just a glimpse of her back, but he has never seen her.

He seemed to have vanished. This aimless search seemed to have no end.

"What do you want from me?" After a long silence, Jiang Yueming finally spoke, meeting Li Leshan's gaze directly. "Didn't I say forget it?"

His voice was light and airy, yet it pierced Li Leshan's heart like the sharpest thorn, bringing intense pain.

Li Leshan averted his gaze, pursed his lips, unsure how to answer. He was just worried about Jiang Yueming; he just wanted to know how she was doing, he just wanted to know what had happened.

“Because,” Li Leshan’s eyes were red, “I haven’t paid back what I owe you yet.”

It was him who said it, he was the one who said it. Six years have passed, and he doesn't know if Jiang Yueming will still remember, but Li Leshan does. Although he persistently went to find Jiang Yueming, it wasn't really because of this. But right now, he didn't know what else he could say to make him stay. Besides, he still hadn't paid back what he owed.

Li Leshan hurriedly reached into his pocket for his bank card. It was the money he had saved over the years—earnings from part-time jobs during his four years of university, scholarships, project bonuses, and income after starting work, all saved after deducting living expenses…

Five years, ten years, Jiang Yueming said, that's when the debt will be paid off.

Jiang Yueming's Adam's apple bobbed. He looked at Li Leshan's trembling hands and remained silent for a long time.

"No need to pay it back..." His voice seemed to come from a very far place, making it hard to realize that they were actually very close at hand.

Li Leshan's hand hovered in the air for a long time before he suddenly raised his head. "I can pay it back, I can now..."

Now he has a stable income, no longer needs to work part-time jobs from dawn till dusk, no longer needs to cover Li Yong's debts, no longer needs to skip meals to save a little money, and no longer needs to run a thousand-mile journey with a high fever for a small testing fee... In short, he no longer needs to be pitied or given charity.

“I said,” Jiang Yueming repeated before Li Leshan could finish speaking, “you don’t need to pay it back.”

Li Leshan tightened his grip on the card, digging it deep into his palm until it ached slightly. He shook his head stubbornly, "I owe you..."

"No need!" Jiang Yueming shouted. He took a deep breath and scratched his hair in frustration. "Le... Li Leshan, how come I never realized you couldn't understand human speech before?"

Suddenly, he felt a stinging sensation in his nose. Li Leshan slowly put the card back in his pocket, blinked, and looked up to meet Jiang Yueming's gaze.

Li Leshan had never imagined such a meeting. He even anticipated that they might brush past each other on some street corner, or something like that, but in any case, he couldn't imagine this scenario.

He took another close look at Jiang Yueming, observing the changes he had undergone in the past four years. Compared to his memory, he seemed almost the same; his hair was a bit longer, and his height was still the same as he remembered…

Li Leshan just kept looking and looking, saying nothing more. He seemed eager to find something different about Jiang Yueming compared to a few years ago, to see the changes in him, to see what the past few years had left on him. Or rather, if he didn't look now, he didn't know when he would see it again.

"Why...did you come back to Shengping?" Li Leshan stopped mentioning the matter of whether he owed her or not. "How long have you been here? Where have you been all these years?"

Jiang Yueming pondered for a long time. His gaze swept across the water, but he did not answer the remaining questions. He simply said, "The bridge is going to be demolished. I'm coming back... to hug the stones of the Lijiang Bridge."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Li Leshan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lin Cuiqin standing not far away, waving at them. She looked surprised and seemed extremely happy. She quickly ran a few steps to the two of them.

"Leshan? Is it Leshan?" Lin Cuiqin was a little excited, and for a moment she forgot that Li Leshan could not speak. She just kept asking, "Leshan? It's been so long, it really is... How come you are in Shengping? I thought you had been in Beijing all along and were not coming back."

When Li Leshan saw her, his pupils contracted slightly. He forced a smile at Lin Cuiqin to avoid making her realize that something was wrong, and quickly typed on his phone: I'm back to work in Shengping.

Lin Cuiqin leaned closer to take a look, then exclaimed in surprise. She grabbed Li Leshan's arm and asked in astonishment, "What? You, you stayed in Shengping to work?"

Li Leshan nodded, unaware that Jiang Yueming's hands clenched tighter and tighter as she heard these words.

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Author's Note: We've reunited! Hahaha!